Overall
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
Diff -1.2 RPP
Manchester-Nashua vs Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson is 1.1% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua.
1.1% less expensive
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD is 1.1% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua, NH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 104.5 vs 105.7). A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua buys about the same as $98,893 in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua) vs 104.5 (Baltimore-Columbia-Towson)
- $100k in Manchester-Nashua ≈ $98,893 purchasing power in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
- Services drives the gap (-23.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NH:MD 105.7→104.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NH × MD
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
104.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Manchester-Nashua, NH and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson is 23.3 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Manchester-Nashua to $98,893 in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
Diff +4.7 RPP
Services
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
Diff -23.3 RPP
Rents
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
Diff -16.0 RPP
| Category | Manchester-Nashua | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.7 | 104.5 | -1.2 |
| Goods | 97.7 | 102.4 | +4.7 |
| Services | 133.5 | 110.2 | -23.3 |
| Rents | 134.2 | 118.2 | -16.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 104.5
Goods
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 102.4
Services
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 110.2
Rents
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 118.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Manchester-Nashua would need to be in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson for the same purchasing power:
| In Manchester-Nashua | In Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,446 | $-554 |
| $75,000 | $74,169 | $-831 |
| $100,000 | $98,893 | $-1,107 |
| $150,000 | $148,339 | $-1,661 |
$ in Manchester-Nashua = in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.7 → 104.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Baltimore-Columbia-Towson more expensive than Manchester-Nashua?
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson is 1.1% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua. The overall cost index is 104.5 vs 105.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson equals $100K in Manchester-Nashua?
A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua has the same purchasing power as $98,893 in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Manchester-Nashua and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson?
Rents in Manchester-Nashua are indexed at 134.2 while Baltimore-Columbia-Towson is at 118.2 (national average = 100). Manchester-Nashua has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.